Posts Tagged:

“HOME”

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
”  (T.S. Eliot, “Little Gidding”.)

Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.”  (C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain.)

It will be time to go “home” in a few days.

Did you notice that the word “home” is in parentheses?  That’s because “home” isn’t . . . home, that is.  Perhaps, I should explain.

I believe that this planet, as nice as it is, is not my home.  Arizona is incredibly lovely, but it is not home.  Neither is any place I’ve ever lived before.  Neither is the place where I now live.  I do believe that where we are right now is important.  I just believe that it isn’t home.

I believe that God willed you and me to be here.  Were there natural processes involved?  Absolutely!  But I believe that within and beyond these natural processes there is a God who willed each of us into existence.

Even when I was very little, I felt that I was an accident.  Later, I would learn that my mom and dad were in their middle forties when I came to be.  It had been ten years since my sister had been born.  When I realized the implications of that, I knew why I had felt that I was an accident: I was!  This is part of my feeling of being homeless.

But the truth is this: I am indeed homeless!  So are you.  So is everyone on this planet.

I don’t enjoy a lot of “country gospel music.”  However, one song that I do appreciate has the lyrics, “This world is not my home; I’m just a passin’ through.”

Yes!

When we stand before God, I do not think he will say, “Welcome to Heaven!”  I think God will say, “Welcome home, my child!”

So, what is to be my response to wherever I am, whatever I’m doing, whatever I’m going through?  I need to remember that this is a wonderful vacation, a pilgrimage, and a quest all wrapped up into one not-so-neat package.  God has called me to travel with Him, to trust Him, and to be kind and helpful to others.  But all the while, I need to remember that this is not my home, no matter what “this” I am referring to.

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